uktransportfandomcom-20200216-history
West Ruislip station
West Ruislip is a Network Rail station located on Ickenham Road between Ickenham and Ruislip in western Greater London; it is served by both London Underground (LU) and National Rail trains on independent platforms. It is the western terminus of the LU Central Line's West Ruislip branch, with Ruislip Gardens as the next Underground station towards central London. National Rail services are provided by Chiltern Railways, West Ruislip is between South Ruislip and Denham. The station is managed by Chiltern Railways.National Rail - station information page for West Ruislip History map of railways in the vicinity of West Ruislip (shown here as Ruislip & Ickenham)]] The station was opened on 2 April 1906 as Ruislip & Ickenham by the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway (GW&GCJR). The GW&GCJR connected London and the Midlands via High Wycombe and provided an alternative route to the Great Central Railway's (GCR's) main line through Aylesbury, Harrow and Wembley which shared its route with the Metropolitan Railway. Prior to the Second World War plans had been made for a number of extensions to the Central Line. The London Passenger Transport Board's (LPTB's) 1935-40 New Works programme included the extension of the Central Line to run alongside the Great Western Railway (GWR) tracks from North Acton to South Ruislip and the GW&GCJR tracks from there as far as Denham, although the introduction of Metropolitan Green Belt caused the extension to be cut back to West Ruislip. Had the extension been built in full, the next station would have been Harefield Road. Preparatory work on this extension had started just before the war and a section of trackbed had been constructed for the extension can be seen beyond the buffer stops of the Central line tracks alongside the National Rail line. The additional tracks were constructed by the GWR on behalf of the LPTB and on 30 June 1947, the first section of the western extension opened from North Acton to Greenford. On the same date the station name was changed to West Ruislip (for Ickenham). Central Line services began running from West Ruislip on 21 November 1948. The station building was built by British Railways for London Underground and was not completed until the 1960s and at about the same time the sub-title was omitted from the station name. Some Central Line stations with older signage still show the longer name on the line diagrams on their platforms. The station was transferred from the Western Region of British Rail to the London Midland Region on 24 March 1974. Transport links London bus routes U1 and U10. The station today West Ruislip station is aligned approximately east-west with the main station buildings on the road overbridge across the lines at the western end of the station. The station has four platforms; two each for London Underground and National Rail services. The London Underground tracks are south of the National Rail ones and operate from an island platform whilst the National Rail platforms are outside of their tracks. The National Rail platforms are also served by a separate station building north of the tracks and adjacent to the car park. A single weekday service from Gerrards Cross calls at the station at 1012 hrs (as of July 2009), running non-stop to London Paddington. It traverses the rarely used former main line between Northolt Park Junction and Old Oak Common Junction, in many places reduced to a single track. This section is used more frequently by freight and waste trains, and by diversions during engineering works. The return service leaves Paddington at 1120 hrs, calling first at Gerrards Cross, and terminating at Princes Risborough. In a legacy of the original scheme to continue the extension to Denham, the Central Line tracks continue for a short distance beyond the station before ending at buffers. The intended alignment of the unbuilt tracks can be seen from the width of the unused railway land south of the existing tracks. The Central Line's Ruislip depot is east of West Ruislip station, and has a connection via a shunting neck to the Network Rail westbound track west of the station to allow rolling stock and material deliveries. The depot also has a connection to the Uxbridge branch tracks of the Metropolitan and Piccadilly Lines which pass under the Central Line east of West Ruislip; it is used only for empty stock movements and works train access. Two sidings west of the station to the north of the running lines provide layover facilities for works trains. There are ticket barriers at the main entrance to the station; these control access to the Central Line platforms from the public highway and from the pedestrian walkway linking the car park to the station. The Chiltern platforms can be reached from the car park walkway without tickets, as no ticket barriers are installed to control access. Nearby places today if it had been constructed]] * Ruislip * Ickenham * Adjacent to the station is RAF West Ruislip which was until 2006 a co-located US Navy facility and elementary school, the US Navy turned the facility over to the UK MoD and the site is currently under going commercial development.http://www.vsmestates.co.uk/schemes_west_ruislip.htm Former site of a US Air Force facility. Gallery Image:West Ruislip stn tube westbound.JPG|Central line island terminating platforms looking west, "to buffers" Image:West Ruislip stn tube eastbound.JPG|Central line island platform looking east, with Chiltern Railways platforms on the left Image:West Ruislip stn tube roundel.JPG|Roundel on Central line westbound platform face Image:West Ruislip stn tube to main connection.JPG|Westen end of the Central line platforms, showing on the left the connection from Ruislip Depot to the mainline beyond the station. It is used for stock transfers. Image:West Ruislip stn Chiltern westbound.JPG|Looking west from the Chiltern Railways platforms. Note centre fast track. Image:West Ruislip stn Chiltern eastbound.JPG|Looking east from the Chiltern Railways platforms Image:West Ruislip stn Chiltern signage.JPG|Signage on Chiltern Railways eastbound platform Image:West Ruislip stn sidings west.JPG|Looking west from the road bridge showing the arrangement of tracks west of the station. On the left, the connection from the tube network can be seen joining the main line. Image:W.Ruslip station shot.png|West Ruislip station's Chiltern Railways' platform in 2002. File:West Ruislip station 021.jpg|An overhead view of the station. File:West Ruislip station 032.jpg|An overhead view of the station. File:West Ruislip sign.jpg|An old sign board taken in 1987. References External links Category:Central Line stations Category:Railway stations in Hillingdon Category:Tube stations in Hillingdon Category:Former Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway stations Category:Railway stations opened in 1906 Category:Railway stations served by Chiltern Railways ar:غرب روسليب (محطة مترو أنفاق لندن) de:Bahnhof West Ruislip fa:ایستگاه رویسلیپ غربی fr:West Ruislip (métro de Londres) gan:韋斯杜雷斯立站 nl:Station West Ruislip no:West Ruislip stasjon